Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 119942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
Keenan interrupted, “Seriously, what are you?”
She sighed at him. “I’m a sphinx.” Seeing that Knox was about to speak again, she held up her hand. “I appreciate the gesture, but no. I don’t want expensive things from you, and I don’t want to move away from my lair. It’s not going to happen.”
“So damn stubborn.”
“I believe I did warn you about that.”
“She did,” Levi verified, smiling.
It took supreme effort to make Knox stop grinding his teeth. The she-demon drove him insane. It was a wise person who acknowledged their strengths and their weaknesses, and Knox was smart about many things. He was good at reading people and what they wanted, at predicting how people would react to situations, and at figuring how to get what he wanted from them – and then at getting it. Harper, however…she left him stumped. “Then we find a compromise.”
“What kind of compromise?”
“Something that enables me to ensure your protection without requiring you to change address. You can come with me to the conference.”
Taking a swig from his flask, Keenan’s brow furrowed. “It might not be a good idea for Harper to be there.”
“Why?” asked Larkin.
“Isla might be offended by Harper’s presence,” Keenan pointed out. “Might even try to harm her.”
“Isla Ross?” Harper turned to Knox. “Is she some kind of jealous ex? Did you two shake the sheets in the past?”
Knox frowned. “No.”
“Then why would she have an issue with me?” When Knox didn’t respond, she sighed. “Fine, you don’t have to tell me.” Harper refused to believe that it was disappointment that hit her on the realization that he didn’t trust her.
If he hadn’t spent the past week studying Harper so intently, he might have missed the hurt in her tone. “It’s not that I don’t trust you with this information. But much like you, I don’t like sharing details about my personal life.” Especially anything related to his past. Seeing that she looked mollified, he relaxed. “But…I won’t have you walk into a situation blind, and as I fully intend to take you to the conference, I will trust you with the facts.”
“I won’t repeat them,” she promised.
“I know you won’t. When I was twelve and my parents died, I was placed in a sanctuary for stray demon children. That’s where I met my sentinels. Isla was also there. We all watched out for each other.”
“So, you’re all kind of close?”
“Yes.”
“Then why would she wish to harm your anchor?” At his shifty expression, she narrowed her eyes. “What?”
“Isla convinced herself I was her anchor. I knew she was wrong, but she refused to listen to me. She was angry with me because she believed I was rejecting her. So she left us and joined the lair that she was made Prime of only a decade later.” Knox shrugged. “It could be that she’s realized she was wrong. We’ve come across each other over the years and she never mentioned it. Hoping that it could be forgotten, I never raised the subject. Maybe it has been forgotten. After all, it’s been a long time.”
That made Harper wonder how old he was. Once demons reached their late twenties, the aging process slowed to a crawl. She couldn’t guess his age based on how he dressed or how he spoke. Demons adapted and changed with the world around them – it was how they blended.
“But if she does still believe I’m her anchor, she’ll have some serious anger toward the person she thinks has taken her place.”
“Then announcing I’m your anchor isn’t the wisest thing to do.”
Knox pinned her gaze with his. “I’m not going to keep you a secret just to placate one person who may or may not still be deluded about something. You’re in more danger if people don’t know who you are to me.”
“He’s right,” Levi told her.
Harper sniffed at the sentinel. “I don’t believe I asked for a glass of your unimportant opinion.”
The guy just smiled. “Knox, can I bite her?”
“No.” If anyone would take a bite of that ivory skin, it would be Knox. His demon was in full agreement with that. “Although I don’t like the idea of you being in the same room as Isla when there’s a possibility that she could resent you, I think it would be better for you both to be introduced in a safe environment while I’m at your side.”
“Otherwise Isla, if she is still convinced you’re her anchor, would track down Harper and you might not be there to intervene,” said Levi, correctly guessing where Knox’s thoughts had taken him.
“It’s best to get it over with and find out for sure,” agreed Larkin.
Keenan looked at Harper, seemingly concerned. “Unless you’d rather not go. We’d understand if you were reluctant to be in a dangerous situation like that, if you’re scared.”
Knowing full well that the incubus was using reverse psychology, Harper scowled. “Are you always such an annoying motherfucker?”